She stretched her arms over her head and smiled.
What she’d let happen in the hot tub was ill-advised, but she’d never felt better in her whole life. And she’d never felt less like shooting sexy cowboys. Maybe today would be the best time to take a roll of Juanita’s kids, while the rental-car company sorted out what they wanted to do about her disabled convertible.
Dressing quickly, she kept an eye out for Tom as she went up to the back door of the ranch’s kitchen and rapped gently. “Juanita?”
Juanita came to the screen door and opened it immediately. “Where have you been keeping yourself? You haven’t been sneaking food from the kitchen in days!”
“I’d like to sneak some now,” Cleo said. “I’m starving.”
“Coming right up.” Juanita motioned her inside and went over to open the pantry. “You look good.” Her back to Cleo, she pulled out the makings for French toast “Did you get some good news or something?”
Cleo made a mental note to tone down her pleased expression. She especially didn’t want that look on her face if Tom showed up. “Oh, I guess I’m just enjoying the morning. Do you know if—uh—Tom or anybody is around?”
“Tom rode out of here before breakfast.” Juanita whipped eggs and milk together. “Did you need him for anything?”
“No! I mean, no. My car broke down last night at the Diamond Bar Steak House, and I—”
“He’d be glad to help you with that, I’m sure, but he didn’t say when he’d be back.”
“That’s okay. I can handle it.” She was afraid she sounded as distracted as she felt. “In fact, why don’t I go call the rental company while the French toast is cooking?”
“Sure.” Juanita gave her a strange look. “How’d you get home last night, then?”
“A cowboy gave me a lift. It worked out fine.” Although Cleo knew that Juanita couldn’t possibly figure out what happened after that, she still wanted to change the subject. “Listen, after breakfast, I thought I might try a few shots of the kids.”
“Oh.” Juanita looked bereft. “They’re with their father. He took them down to the Gallatin River to fish today. If I’d known that you—”
“Never mind,” Cleo said quickly. “I’ll catch them another time.”
“But you’re so busy. And now that you haven’t needed snacks during the day because you’ve been gone so much, I was afraid that you’d decide not to do it.”
“I absolutely am going to do it.” Cleo had been lukewarm about the idea before, but now that she understood how significant it was to Juanita, she’d make certain the job was accomplished. “Don’t worry. I’ll be around for a few more days. We’ll find time.”
Juanita kept pummeling the eggs and milk with the wire whisk, even though the mixture was frothy already. “Jeeter told me how much you paid him to take his picture. I...might have asked too big a favor, just in trade for a few meals. I’ll bet you charge a lot for portraits, don’t you?”
Cleo walked over and put her hands on Juanita’s plump shoulders. “You let me into your kitchen,” she said with a smile. “I figure that’s beyond price.”
Juanita stared at her for a minute, and finally her expression cleared and she grinned. “That’s true. Go make your phone call while I fix you the best French toast west of the Mississippi.”
Fifteen minutes later, her mouth full of the lightest, sweetest French toast she’d ever eaten, Cleo had to agree with her. She sat where Juanita had set her a place, on a stool drawn up to the butcher-block island in the center of the large kitchen. Juanita poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled up a stool to join her.
Cleo savored the bite a moment longer before swallowing it. “Tom is a lucky man,” she said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
“Why not? He’s got this beautiful ranch, a fantastic cook and loyal hands to help him run the place.”
“Assuming he can hang on.”
Cleo took a sip of coffee so wonderful that it would set the standard for her from now on. “Are things really that bad? He mentioned something during the cattle drive about finances, but then he shrugged it off.”
“He’d hate for me to talk to you about it.”
“But you’re dying to talk to somebody,” Cleo guessed.
“I’m worried sick, to tell you the truth.” Juanita waved at Cleo’s plate. “Keep eating. I’ll talk. You eat”
“You don’t have to coax me. This is outstanding.” Cleo pushed the edge of her fork through a golden slice of French toast dripping with maple syrup. “And I promise that whatever you say goes no further.”
“I know that.” Juanita cradled her mug of coffee. “I have good instincts. Take that Deidre. I knew from the minute he brought her here she would be bad news.”
“I heard what she did to Tom.”
Juanita’s brown eyes turned almost black with anger. “It was bad enough that she did it, but not even to tell him beforehand, to give him a chance to stop her...that was evil. Especially after all the money he wasted flying to New York once a month because he figured it was only fair that he do part of the traveling. Then when they split up, he had to pay her a cash settlement because. he’s the one who asked for the divorce, and Tom’s not the type to sign a prenuptial agreement. He was already stretched pretty thin after buying his sister out, and then his dad’s doctor bills started coming in.”
“Wow. That does sound bad.”
“I’ve pieced all this together on my own, but I see him in his office, hunched over the books. Unless he’s got some gold buried somewhere on the ranch, he’s in big trouble.”
“You mean, he might lose the ranch?”
Juanita gazed at her. “It happens all the time around here. Ranching’s tough, and taking in guests helps keep you even. But let an ex-wife take you to the cleaners, or let medical bills cut into your profits, and it’s adiós, muchachos .”
“But this has been McBride land for five generations!”
Juanita nodded. “Can you imagine how that weighs on him? And he worries about all of us. I could get another job, but I don’t want another one. I love this place as much as if it was my family that had been here for five generations. The first time I laid eyes on it, I recognized it as a real place, one that gets in your blood.”
Cleo finished her meal and picked up her coffee mug. She knew what Juanita meant. She also knew that it didn’t apply to any apartment she’d ever lived in in Manhattan. She felt a connection with the city in general, but it was far less personal than the one Tom had with the Whispering Winds.
She sent Juanita a rueful glance. “I thought if he’d just agree to pose for me, I could help him out. Sounds like that would be a drop in the bucket.”
“Yes.” Juanita smiled. “Although I’d give anything to see what you could do with him in a calendar pose. He has no idea what a sexy guy he is.”
Cleo felt the heat rise to her cheeks.
“Aha!” Juanita set down her mug with a bang. “So I was right!”
Cleo stood and picked up her plate. “I really have to get going. I’m sure you have plenty to do before lunch. I—”
“I see you two ending up together, you know.”
Cleo dumped her plate in the sink and ran water over it She kept her back to Juanita. “That’s ridiculous, and you know it. My life is in New York, just like Deidre’s was. Even if Tom and I are somewhat attracted to each other, which you’ve obviously noticed, we’d both be crazy to act on it”
“You’re no more like Deidre than I’m like Cruella De Ville.”
“Tom thinks I’m like Deidre,” Cleo said softly.
“Then Tom needs to look a little closer.”
Cleo turned, bracing both hands behind her on the counter. “I am like her. I put my career ahead of everything else. Marriage, kids, a home—they’re all secondary, just like with Deidre. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and I don’t intend to give it up.”
Juanita gazed at her, her expression serene. “If you sa
y so.”
“I do. In fact, I need to use the telephone again, so I can call my assistant. Business is on my mind all the time.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It is, Juanita.” She started out of the kitchen. “Thanks for a wonderful breakfast”
“Anytime.”
Cleo had nothing specific to discuss with Bernie, but she needed to connect with that part of her life. She felt her grip on it slipping.
“How’s the manhunt going?” Bernie asked cheerfully.
“I, uh, may have to make two trips to get the job accomplished,” Cleo admitted. “It is pretty tough to get something like that settled in two weeks.”
“Can’t you find anybody who dreams of connubial bliss in a hotel room?”
“Stop it, Bernie. Honestly, you’re sounding so old-fashioned. Did you get the rolls of film I shipped?”
“Of course. The contact sheets are on their way. You’ve got some cuties there. If I didn’t have George, I might consider a guest-ranch vacation, myself.”
“Yeah, there’s something about cowboys.” Especially one in particular, she thought.
“I have to ask. Are any of the ones on the rolls I saw husband candidates?”
“No.” The answer came out too quickly, and there was no logic behind it, only emotion generated by a passionate man in a hot tub. She just couldn’t think about marriage so soon after that. “I mean, probably not.”
“I counted eight guys. If you’ve eliminated eight of your thirteen, you’re not giving yourself much leeway.”
“That’s why I need another trip out here.”
“That reservation wasn’t easy to get,” Bernie said. “You have some free time in September, so why don’t I just schedule you at the same—”
“No!”
“What’s the problem? You seemed to like it well enough in the beginning.”
“It’s okay. I just want to...branch out. Listen, don’t schedule anything until I get back.”
“All right. You sound funny. Is something wrong?”
Cleo cleared her throat. “Not a thing.”
“You father called again. He wants an answer on whether he can count on the calendar as a premium.”
“Tell him he can.”
“Cleo, are you sure? You sound a little stressed, and bringing your father in on the project probably isn’t—”
“I can handle it. In fact, I want to handle it. I’ve waited a long time for him to take me seriously. Now that he has, it would be childish to refuse.”
Bernie sighed. “Okay. See you soon.”
“Right. We’ll take an afternoon off and go shopping on Fifth Avenue.”
“We’ll do what?”
“Go shopping,” Cleo said. “Do lunch at the Four Seasons.”
“You’ve never suggested a shopping trip in all the years we’ve known each other. What’s up?”
“I just realized I’m not as appreciative of New York as I should be. Just because we don’t have high mountains and moose and eagles and stuff doesn’t mean we don’t have lots of cool things in New York.”
“Uh, okay, Cleo. Whatever you say. Shopping. Right. I gotta go now, toots. The other line’s ringing. And the next time one of those cowboys rolls you a cigarette, ask what’s in it. Sounds to me the mountains aren’t the only thing that’s high in Montana.”
10
CLEO DID FEEL a little high after last night’s episode. Compounding her sense of disorientation was having nothing to do. She’d always been in a rush, always on a schedule, but the rental-car situation wouldn’t be straightened out for at least a couple of hours, so she had no wheels. She couldn’t photograph Juanita’s kids, and the phone call to Bernie had only used up a few minutes.
After a quick trip back to the kitchen for carrot chunks, she wandered down to the corral. Dynamite stood in the same sleepy-eyed position she’d been in when Cleo first saw her the morning of the cattle drive.
“Sandbagger,” Cleo said. She clucked to the horse and reached in her pocket for a piece of carrot. “You just want everybody to think you’re old and tired so they won’t make you work too hard.”
Dynamite walked over, and Cleo slipped her the carrot. She tried not to make a big deal about it and attract the attention of the other horses in the corral, although there weren’t many. Jeeter had taken a big group out on a trail ride this morning, along with Trixie. She’d seen them head out as she walked up to the house for breakfast.
“Want to take her out for a spin?” Jose asked, ambling up to her with a posthole digger over his shoulder.
“Are you offering to go along?”
“Wish I could, but the boss needs some posts set this morning. That doesn’t mean you can’t take a ride by yourself. It’s a great day for it.”
The idea appealed to her. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll get lost?”
“Find a fence and follow along. It’ll lead you back home. Go out for about an hour, turn around and come back. I’ve seen you ride. You’ll be fine.”
“Okay, I’ll go. Let me get my camera.”
“I’ll saddle Dynamite for you.”
“I’ll do that, too,” Cleo said. “If I’m going out by myself, the least I can do is saddle my own horse.”
Jose smiled at her. “Good for you.”
She studied him and wondered if maybe he could be the one, after all. He was very handsome, and a nice guy. “Do you plan on having kids some day?” she asked. She hadn’t figured out how to work that into the photo-shoot interview.
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Kids.” Cleo managed a laugh. “Don’t ask me why I thought of that, but I did.”
Jose cleared his throat “First I reckon I’d better find the right lady. Some of that decision would be up to her.”
“What if she didn’t want any?”
“Look, if you’re trying to set me up with somebody in particular, then tell me who it is, and we can—”
“Nope. Just idle curiosity.”
He swung the posthole digger from his shoulder and leaned on it, gazing at her in speculation. “Well, I’ve never considered that question, but it would depend on why she didn’t want them, I guess. I’d understand a medical problem, or maybe she’s worried about overpopulation, or the cost of college, things like that. But I always figured on being a father some day. Giving that up would be a sacrifice, and I wouldn’t make it without a powerful reason.”
“I see.” That took care of Jose as a candidate.
He grinned. “And I still say you have somebody in mind you want to marry me off to. Send her on out. I’ll change her mind about the kid thing.”
Cleo waved her hands in front of her. “Nobody, really. I’ll be right back with my camera.”
“Don’t forget your hat,” he called out after her.
SOMETIME LATER, her hat firmly in place, Cleo guided Dynamite along a barbed-wire fence as it angled away from the ranch. She took a deep breath and smelled freedom, just as she had on the morning of the cattle drive. Out here there was no phone, no fax, no expectations.
She wondered where Tom was right now. Not that she’d ridden out here hoping to find him. In fact, he was the last person on earth she wanted to run into. But after last night, she’d rather their next encounter be in private, instead of when other people were around. Now that she knew Juanita had picked up on the attraction between the two of them, she was afraid others might do the same.
The longer she rode, the less any of that seemed to matter. She glanced at her watch and knew she’d better turn back, but she hated to do it just yet. Dynamite would accelerate on the way home, anyway, and the ride was so therapeutic. The majesty of her surroundings dwarfed human concerns. She remembered what Tom had called it—the most beautiful office in the world. Yet he might lose it She didn’t want to think about that. Tom belonged here, and the idea that he might lose the right to ride through this country really bothered her.
She leaned forward to pat Dynamite’s soft neck. “It w
on’t happen, will it, Dynamite? The Whispering Winds will be McBride land for a long time yet, right?”
The mare’s ears twitched back in acknowledgment of the conversation.
“You’re a good pony, Dynamite. I’m going to miss you. In fact, I’m going to take your picture so I’ll have something to remember you by.” Pulling the mare to a halt beside the fence, she dismounted and dropped the reins to the ground, as Tom had instructed everyone to do during the cattle drive.
She walked a slight distance away, trying different camera angles. The horse stood in her typical halfasleep pose, looking like one disreputable nag. Cleo tried snapping her fingers, but nothing happened. “Open your eyes, Dynamite,” she ordered. Then she remembered those had been Tom’s exact words to her last night She’d wanted to stay one step removed from what was happening in that hot tub. If she didn’t open her eyes, she wasn’t truly acknowledging that it was Tom there with her, touching her in all those forbidden ways. But he’d appealed to her sense of justice, and she’d opened her eyes, only to find herself drowning in the experience he was giving her.
Gazing into his eyes during those final moments of pleasure, she’d had the unmistakable feeling that he was binding her to him. That was ridiculous, of course. She wasn’t bound to anyone. She was going back home soon, and putting together a calendar that would be her biggest hit yet. Sphinx Cosmetics would help make it so.
She crouched in the grass. “Okay, you sorry piece of horseflesh. If you don’t perk up, all of New York will see what a lazy bag of bones you are, and they’ll never believe you’re the queen of the cow ponies. Is this the image you want carried to the Big Apple?”
Amazingly, Dynamite’s ears flicked forward and she looked suddenly alert.
“Hey, that’s more like it!” Cleo clicked the shutter.
Dynamite tossed her head and rolled her eyes.
“Go, baby! They’re gonna love you on Broadway, sweetheart!”
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